As legal recruiters who work in both staffing and attorney hires, Momentum often hires temporary workers who are placed on assignment with our law firm and company clients.
We thus watched with interest as Austin debated and then passed its “ban the box” ordinance which precludes employers from asking about criminal histories until after an offer has been extended. It also precludes employers from doing a background criminal check until after an offer is extended.
See this article by employment lawyers Hutcheson Bowers for more information about Austin’s new ordinance.
The companies that conduct background checks for employers often take up to a week, sometimes more, to complete the process, so this new ordinance will affect the speed with which staffing firms like Momentum can get temporary workers on assignment.